Instincts
by Commodore Norrington
Summary: Kate and Gibbs investigate a murder that is not what it seems.


He was really getting on her nerves today. If she didn't know better, she'd think he was doing it deliberately. It was just little things, a comment her, a look there. But as the day wore on, she was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate. She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head as she pretended to read a file for the hundredth time. This day will never end, she thought. She stood suddenly, unable to stand it any longer.  
"Where are you going?" she heard him ask.  
"Bathroom," she replied stiffly, thinking of the only place where he could not follow her.  
She stayed as long as she could without arousing suspicion. Splashing water on her face, she stared at herself in the mirror. "Get a grip," she muttered to her reflection. Feeling a bit better, she stepped back into the bullpen, only to see him breeze past her with a curt order.  
"Grab your gear. We're going out."  
*****  
The DB was a young Navy lieutenant, shot in the back. Ducky was already shaking his head and launching into a story about how in ancient Europe it was considered the ultimate act of cowardice...  
Kate no longer heard him. She had just noticed a young woman talking to a couple of agents. She looked distraught and her face was streaked with tears. Kate's heart went out to her. She assumed the woman was the girlfriend or even wife of the poor dead lieutenant. Kate decided to try to comfort her as much as possible.  
***** Three days later  
"It must have been someone close to him," Gibbs said. "They couldn't look him in the eye when they shot him."  
"It could've been an accident," Kate maintained.  
"You just don't want it to be the wife," he shot back.  
"Because she's innocent!"  
"Don't make snap judgments, Agent Todd. Let the evidence talk, not your personal emotions." Gibbs gave her a reproachful look. She sighed, knowing he was probably right about her emotions but refusing to believe that her new friend was capable of murder. Suddenly overwhelmed, she started for the restroom. She simply couldn't be around Gibbs for too long or she knew she would do something stupid. The bathroom was the one place where he couldn't – wouldn't – chase her. He was too old school.  
The brief break cleared her head and made her feel much better. She decided to go visit Laurie at her home on the base. The lieutenant's wife was grieving heavily and Kate wanted to check up on her.  
*****  
The Callahans' base quarters were small but homey. Laurie Callahan had obviously worked hard to make the space theirs, hanging pictures and decorating with the couple's favorite knick-knacks. The furniture was slightly used but comfortable and the color scheme was warmly inviting. In a vaguely incongruous twist, the place was a mess. There were clothes strewn all over the furniture, dishes piled in the sink, and grime on the walls and floor. Kate chalked it up to the woman's grief; she simply had not cared about cleanliness for the past three days.  
As Kate talked to Laurie, she tried to put together a picture of their lives before Lieutenant Callahan had been shot in the back. They had met while the lieutenant was still at Annapolis. His first posting had been at Pensacola for flight school, before he had transferred first to Dallas NAS and finally to Norfolk. He had recently been given orders to the USS Coral Sea, in the Persian Gulf. According to his wife, he had been terrified he would be killed.  
"Jim loved his job, but he was so afraid. He didn't want to go because he didn't want – " Laurie sobbed. "He didn't want to get killed and leave me alone. And now..." Laurie broke down, weeping into her hands. Kate patted her back, trying to comfort the anguished woman.  
"I'm so sorry, Laurie," she soothed. Laurie finally sat up, wiping her eyes.  
"Thank you," she whispered. Kate nodded, trying to smile consolingly. Not wanting to be insensitive, she waited for several minutes before asking the question she had come to ask. When Laurie seemed composed again, Kate went for it.  
"Do you mind if I take a look at the lieutenant's computer?" she asked, trying to be as gentle as possible. She had a hunch and the computer could possibly confirm it. Laurie nodded. Kate smiled her thanks and slipped behind the computer desk.  
As she searched the files, Kate wondered what she was looking for. She told herself she would know it when she saw it, but all the same she questioned how valid her hunch was in the first place. Then she saw it. Opening his Internet History, she scanned the sites visited in the last few days. One in particular caught her eye. The site, called reddawn.org, was run by an ultra-left, anti-military group. It contained accusations against the military, as well as advice to followers about how to destroy military targets. Following a few links, Kate came across an alarming page. It was apparently an intricate blueprint of the base, along with detailed instructions for building and planting a bomb. Scanning the History again, she noted that the site had last been visited the day Lieutenant Callahan was killed. Writing the important information on a notepad, she thanked Laurie for her time and hurried back to the office to tell Gibbs.  
*****  
"What?"  
"I know it sounds crazy, but I think it explains a lot," Kate defended to Gibbs incredulous look.  
"Yeah, it's crazy! You're telling me that a sworn protector of the US Constitution frequented a violent anti-military site and planned to blow up the base that his wife lived on? And what exactly does it explain? Why he was killed? Why he was shot in the back? Or why he suddenly turned on his country?" Gibbs was getting agitated, a rare occurrence. Kate supposed it was the idea that a serviceman, an officer, could plot such heinous crimes.  
"His wife said he had just gotten orders to the Gulf and that he was terrified he would be killed. Maybe he felt like the Navy had wronged him somehow. And maybe he was killed because someone found out and decided to take out a traitor. Maybe Laurie even did it."  
"That's a lot of maybes, Agent Todd. Do you have any proof?"  
Kate glared at him and sighed. She knew he had her. "No. Not yet. But I'll get it."  
"You do that. And when you have concrete evidence, then we will discuss the case. Alright?"  
"Alright," Kate agreed sullenly. That man could be so infuriating in his logic! Kate determined to find the evidence to prove that Lieutenant Callahan was a traitor and a terrorist. Suddenly she had a terrible thought. What if he had already planted the bomb before he was killed? The base was still in danger. She had to warn Laurie. Gibbs words came back to her. She had no evidence. Would she even be able to convince Laurie to leave, that her husband had been a traitor? And there was no way she could persuade the base officials to evacuate without proof. She had to get that evidence!  
Five hours later, Kate gave a shout of triumph. By pulling the lieutenant's credit card records, she had found several suspicious purchases: fertilizer, gasoline, wire, and a digital clock. Printing it hurriedly, she called Gibbs' cell phone.  
"I got it," she said triumphantly, not trying too hard to suppress the 'I told you so' in her voice.  
"Got what?"  
"That evidence you wanted," Kate said impatiently. She was trying to gloat here, and he wouldn't even give her her moment of glory.  
"Good job. Now what?"  
"I think we should notify the base authorities. Have them evacuate the base. And of course I have to warn Laurie," Kate added.  
"Alright. I'll meet you at the base." Gibbs hung up. Kate grabbed her stuff and ran to her car, urgency in her every move. If Lieutenant Callahan had already planted the bomb, there was little time. She had to hurry.  
*****  
She pulled into the base and spotted Gibbs' car almost immediately. He got out as she approached, his expression uncharacteristically worried. Kate grabbed the credit card records and ran to him. He glanced at the records and nodded, understanding. Kate started for Laurie's quarters but he stopped her.  
"Where are you going?"  
"I have to warn Laurie," she insisted.  
"First we tell the base authorities and have them evacuate," he said, irritatingly rational. Kate would not be swayed.  
"You go tell them. I'm going to warn Laurie," she maintained stubbornly. "She may know something more." Before he could stop her, she took off for the married officers' quarters.  
When she got the Callahans', she felt something was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it, but her instinct was telling her things were not as they seemed. When knocking on the door yielded no results, she walked in, surprised to find the door unlocked.  
"Laurie?" she called. No answer. Worried, she walked further in. Strange, she thought. The house was eerily quiet. Glancing into the bedroom, she saw the closets wide open and completely empty. Suddenly terrified, she darted into the office and saw her worst fear on the computer screen. There, blown up and focused, sat the plan of the base. Creeping closer, as if afraid the computer would bite, Kate realized the plan highlighted the commissary. There was a basement under the busy hub of the base, the perfect place for a bomb. With a sick feeling of dread, Kate forced her legs to move. She had to warn Gibbs and the base authorities.  
As she ran, she tried to figure everything out. She knew now that Laurie had been the one to visit the website and purchase the bomb materials. She tried to reason the rest. She guessed that Laurie, not Lieutenant Callahan, was the one against the lieutenant going to Iraq. Perhaps she had been unhappy with the many moves and the orders to the Gulf had been the final straw. Kate imagined that Lieutenant Callahan had found out about his wife's plans to destroy the base and tried to stop her. Unable to be deterred, Laurie would have shot him to accomplish her mission. Like Gibbs had said, she was probably unable to look him in the eye as she killed him. Kate could hardly believe this explanation, but at the same time, she knew it was completely true.  
Her system inundated with adrenaline, she sprinted like never before. She knew it would be too late to stop Laurie; she simply had to get as many people out as possible. Rounding a corner, she caught sight of Gibbs talking to a captain. He was showing the captain the records and explaining something. Running as fast as she could, Kate rushed to them. Gasping for breath, she tried to explain.  
"I – was wrong. It's – Laurie – not the – lieutenant. Commissary. Too late – to stop her. Have to – get out." Gibbs' face paled and he grabbed her arm. Half-dragging her, he yelled back to the captain.  
"Captain, we've got to get out of here, now! Evacuate the commissary immediately!" Though the captain looked a bit uncomfortable taking orders from a civilian, he complied. Meanwhile, Gibbs and Kate ran as fast as they could, telling everyone they saw to get as far away from the commissary as possible.  
They were almost to the gate when an explosion rocked the earth. Gibbs tackled Kate to the ground, covering her with his body as debris flew around them. It suddenly got very hot, as the fireball rolled over them. Smoke surrounded them, and it became hard to breathe. Realizing the danger, Gibbs pulled Kate to her feet and tugged her toward clear air. Stumbling from the heat and smoke, they joined about a hundred people gaping at the destruction that had been wrought on the base. The commissary was completely gone and most of the surrounding buildings had been flattened. A ring of death extended about 3000 feet from the blast site in all directions. The survivors stood well outside the ring, most covered in dirt and scratches of varying severity. People were weeping for their friends and loved ones, running back to find someone, or simply standing in shock. The damage would take months to repair but the psychological trauma would likely never heal completely.  
*****  
Gibbs and Kate drove back to the office after several hours of helping dig people out of the rubble. They hadn't spoken all afternoon and were only just getting to absorb the events of the day. Kate was on an emotional roller coaster. She had begun the day frustrated, then stunned by the website, then triumphant at the discovery of the proof she needed, then shocked and terrified by the realization of Laurie's guilt, and finally traumatized by the explosion. She was grateful, at least, that she didn't have to talk to Gibbs just yet. She couldn't face him, not after she had almost killed him...again. She didn't know if she could ever face him again.  
*****  
When they reached the office, Kate practically ran inside, desperate to avoid Gibbs. He was too fast for her, though.  
"Agent Todd!" he barked. "We need to talk."  
Kate ignored him and made a beeline for the bathroom. It was her escape. He couldn't follow her in there. Just a few more feet, she thought. Made it! She almost slammed the door behind her, leaned against the wall, and breathed a sigh of relief. She had avoided him for now. She just couldn't face him yet.  
She screamed. The door burst open and in flew a very agitated Gibbs. It was difficult, as always, to read his expression, but she assumed he was angry. He whirled around to face her and she was startled to see that the look in his eyes was not so much angry as concerned. She was speechless.  
"Kate – " he started, before she cut him off.  
"Gibbs, I..." she began, unable to finish for the tears that finally sprang to her eyes. She had gone all day on adrenaline and now her body was catching up to her emotions. "I'm sorry," she managed through her tears.  
"Kate," he said again. "Kate, look at me."  
Reluctantly, she met his eyes. Again, she saw little anger, only worry and...something else she couldn't place. She looked away, staring at the floor to avoid those soul-piercing eyes.  
"Katie, you have nothing to be sorry for," he said softly. She gave a mirthless laugh.  
"Nothing? I killed hundreds of people today. I almost killed you. Again," she sobbed. The tears became unbearable and she broke down. To her surprise, she felt his strong arms encircle her as she wept. Grateful for the support, she leaned against him and cried until there were no more tears. Unwilling to pull away just yet, she stayed in the comfort of his arms as he spoke.  
"Kate, you didn't kill anybody. You trusted someone. That's not wrong, it's human. As for me, I can take care of myself."  
"You can fire me now. I'll understand," Kate said as if she hadn't heard.  
"Fire you? Why would I do that?" He seemed genuinely confused as he pulled his arms away to look at her more clearly.  
"Why would you want an employee that's almost killed you six times in almost six months? I'm a hazard," she said.  
"Hey, I've gotten myself into a heck of a lot more trouble than you ever have. Besides, I'm not dead. You've done nothing wrong," he repeated.  
"Gibbs, look, I appreciate the concern. But the fact remains that my instincts are not reliable. Today isn't the first time that people have died because of my misplaced trust. I'm not cut out to be an agent."  
"Your instincts and skills have saved more lives than they've risked. They've saved my life. Kate, you're the best agent I've got. Don't leave m...us," he caught himself.  
"But – "  
"Agent Todd, do you want to leave NCIS?" he asked, seemingly annoyed.  
"No, but – "  
"No buts, Kate. I want you here. End of discussion." Gibbs turned to leave.  
"Gibbs," Kate called. "Why me?"  
He paused at the door, struggling with his answer. Finally, he looked directly into her eyes and answered. "Because I care about you, Katie." And then he was gone. 


End file.
